I have had numerous people ask me this week where tomorrow night’s Conference USA showdown ranks in terms of important home games over the past 10 or 20 years.
Hard to say exactly but let’s just say its right up there towards the very top.
Head coach Talvin Hester and the Dunkin’ Dawgs will host Sam Houston State Thursday night at 8 p.m. at the Thomas Assembly Center with the Conference USA men’s basketball regular season title on the line.
As the radio play by play voice of the Dogs, I — along with my radio partner Jack Thigpen — will have two of the best seats in the house. And I’m pumped about it.
I have been lucky enough to call all 29 games this year and man have I seen some high-level college basketball for the vast majority of the season.
There were a number of road hiccups in November and December when these Bulldogs were learning what it takes to win on the road. Based on a 6-2 away game mark in CUSA contests, I’d say they learned plenty from tough, last minutes losses at Colorado State, New Mexico, Grand Canyon, St. Louis and Seattle.
Now the road portion of the regular season is over. And with an opportunity to win the first regular season league title since 2014-2015, these Bulldogs get a chance to play in the friendly confines of their home arena.
Friendly for the Bulldogs that is. Tomorrow night we need a raucous crowd of Bulldog boosters to make life a living hell for the Bearkats of Sam Houston.
This will be the second meeting of the year. The Bearkats got the best of the Bulldogs back on January 6 in the CUSA opener for both teams. 81-77 was the final score. Good guys came in second that night.
So it’s time for a little payback and time to secure no worse than a share of the league regular season title. A win by Hester and Co. tomorrow night would do just that. Two wins in their final two home games (Tech hosts Middle Tennessee Saturday at 2 p.m. for Senior Day) would give the Bulldogs the outright league title.
This group has been fun to watch.
With the top two defensive players in the league (in my opinion of course) in Daniel Batcho and Isaiah Crawford, this team has won with defense. With three nightly double digit scorers (join the club Tahlik Chavez) plus the CUSA leader in assists in Sean Newman and a deep bench that has seen three other Bulldogs (Jordan Crawford, Dravon Mangum and Devin Ree) score at least 20 points at least once this year, this team has won with offense. This team has the makeup of a championship caliber group.
Tomorrow night they have a chance to prove it. It won’t be easy.
After a tough non-conference slate that saw the Bearkats lose more than they won (7-8), Sam Houston found their rhythm once league play began. And it started with that 81-77 win over Tech.
Now almost two full months later, Tech will try to return the favor.
And the Bulldogs need your help. School is out for quarter break, thus plenty of students who would normally attend this game may not be there. The diehards will be in attendance. What we need are the casual fans to show up in force. Even if you haven’t been to a Bulldog game this year, here is your chance. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
These Dogs are fun to watch. These Dogs are easy to cheer for. These Dogs have a chance to cut down the proverbial nets this year. And if they continue to play at a high level, these Dogs have a chance to do something that hasn’t been done in more than three decades — win their way into the NCAA Tournament.
But first things first. These Dogs need our communities support tomorrow night.
So take a nap, and head to the TAC for the 8 p.m. tipoff between the Bulldogs and the Bearkats.
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Pre-sale tickets are on sale now for $5 which guarantees the best available seat(s). Those can be purchased at LATechSports.com/PackTheTAC or by calling the LA Tech Ticket Office at (318) 257-3631.
You can also be one of the first 1,000 fans at the TAC, receiving a free ticket courtesy of Origin Bank (the $5 tickets will still be available if the 1,000 free tickets are gone).
Doors will open to the TAC starting at 6:30 p.m.
